The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear an appeal in a challenge to the government's strategy in holding military commissions for detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, had asked the Court to expedite the appeal, but the Court refused to hear the case before the DC [...]

Turkey's parliament has approved another law designed to pave the way for talks on Turkey's membership in the European Union. The new criminal procedure bill, which will take effect on April 1, 2005, is the second leg of a three-part criminal reform initiative, the first part of which was approved by the Turkish parliament earlier [...]

In his first public reaction to Friday's Supreme Court decision (reported here on JURIST's Paper Chase), outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said Monday that he will honor the Court's call for a repeat presidential runoff election. Kuchma also said Monday that he will continue to work for constitutional changes that would weaken the presidency and [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, December 6. The US Supreme Court will hear 10 AM ET oral arguments in Wilkinson v. Dotson (case summary from Duke Law School), where the court will decide whether a prisoner can bring a §1983 claim that his parole [...]

US military officials said Sunday that five soldiers who refused to go on a supply mission in Iraq on October 13 will not be court-martialed. The soldiers, and other members of the Army's 343rd Quartermaster Company, were under investigation after refusing to make a supply run in a dangerous section of Iraq. The US general [...]

Supporters of Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko maintained their siege of government buildings on Sunday. Yuschenko has encouraged supporters to keep up the pressure until President Leonid Kuchma fires Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and electoral reforms are approved to ensure that the new run-off on December 26 is fair. Parliament has already voted to sack [...]

Romania has demanded that a US Marine previously employed as an embassy guard return to the country to face charges for killing a man while driving intoxicated. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has sent an official letter to the US Embassy in Bucharest requesting that diplomatic immunity be lifted and the Marine, who is currently at [...]

Mexico has arrested 17 law enforcement officials including federal, state and local investigators, prosecutors and police officers, on charges of homicide, accessory to murder and protecting drug dealers. Some of those arrested are members of Mexico's Federal Agency of Investigation and the coordinator of the federal attorney general's headquarters. The charges stem from 9 murders [...]

In exchange for Israel's release of six Egyptian students, Egypt Sunday freed Azzam Azzam, an Israeli Arab man serving a 15-year sentence for espionage. Azzam, a textile factory owner, was convicted in 1997 after police accused him of using invisible ink to transmit messages. Israel has denied he was an agent. The six Egyptian men [...]

Hungarians vote today on whether 2.5 million ethnic Magyars, living outside Hungary in Romania and Ukraine, should be granted Hungarian citizenship. Critics believe granting citizenship rights will cause mass migrations and drain the country's budget by burdening welfare, health and education programs. Opinion polls show that a majority of Hungarians support the initiative. The plan [...]